At the end of Day 2 of our epic Pacific Coast Highway road trip, we entered Oregon over the Astoria-Megler bridge, right into the quant riverfront town of Astoria. At mile 0 of the Pacific Coast Highway, Astoria is the perfect start to your trip down the Oregon Coast.
We checked into the Cannery Pier Hotel, and let me tell ya, the photos online do not do this place justice. Every room in this boutique hotel has a balcony, and a beautiful view of the water. Our room on the 4th floor looked straight out onto the water and the bridge, with a small reading nook perfect for watching the sunrise and the sunset.
The hotel typically has nightly wine and cheese tasting in the lobby, but since we visited during COVID restrictions, they gave us a welcome package complete with hand sanitizer, cheese, crackers, and your choice between a few local wines.
We arrived late and spent the first few hours just sitting on the balcony, enjoying our cheese and wine as we watched the sunset. We decided to venture out for dinner once the sun had gone down, only to find out that a lot of restaurants in the area are closed at the beginning of the week, or are reservation only.
The only spot we found that was open, was El Tapatio, a local Mexican restaurant near the hotel. We didn’t anticipate how INCREDIBLE the food was going to be! I had the Crab Enchiladas and Eric had the Seafood Burrito, and both had some of the freshest seafood ever (which makes since as we are on the water). Highly recommend stopping here if you have the time.
Eric and I both love a good dive bar, so afterwards we stopped across the street at the Triangle Tavern for a quick pint before heading back to the hotel to get some rest.
We left our windows open overnight (there is no air conditioning, but it’s not needed with the cool water breezes), and woke up to a beautiful sunrise and the sounds of waves and seagulls as our alarm clock. We spent the morning drinking coffee, reading, and taking in the beautiful scenery. The reading nook next to the balcony even has these beautiful Pendleton wool blankets to curl up with as you enjoy coffee and waves.
Before lunch, we drove up to the Astoria Column, which is at the top of a hill and overlooks all of Astoria and the surrounding water and mountains. Normally you can go up to the very top of the tower, however it was closed for COVID, which we weren’t too upset about because even the views from the base of the tower are BREATHTAKING.
They even have these chairs set up around the top of the hill to sit and relax, as well as picnic tables spread about the area.
After the tower, we headed back to the historic downtown area for some food. Again, definitely check out what is open and the hours before planning your trip. All three of the restaurants we had tagged to eat at were closed. We ended up getting on the (one and a half hour!!) wait list for Fort George Brewery, and grabbing a snack at Blue Scorcher Bakery and Cafe. The asiago jalapeño bagel may have been the most delicious bagel I’ve ever had – it was perfectly crispy and light, and the cream cheese was so soft and creamy. They also make their own lemonade and Italian sodas which were to die for.
Since we still had a little while until our reservation, we walked down to the Flavel House Museum and paid the $7 to do a tour of the beautiful Victorian mansion. The house is incredibly well maintained, and gives you a good feeling for how extravagantly the owners lived back in the early 1900’s.
Heading back to the Fort George brewery, we snagged a great table on the second floor right by the windows, with an unobstructed view of the water. We opted for some clam chowder with homemade focaccia (from Blue Scorcher downstairs) and each got a 4 beer flight so that we could try various items from the menu. Everything was delicious, and if you have time and/or space, you can get cans and growlers to go of your favorites.
Because I am a book store fiend, we spent the next hour perusing the TWO great bookstores in downtown, Lucy’s Books and Godfather’s Books. The two have totally different vibes. Lucy’s is bright and open, very whimsical.
Godfather’s has a larger selection, but a more punk vibe, and also has a large coffee bar inside where you can grab a variety of goodies for while you browse. I also loved that they had the categories of books all in scrabble tiles across the store!
For dinner, we initially planned to head to Bridge Bistro, which the receptionist at our hotel said was hands down the best restaurant in the city, but we wanted something dog friendly with a more chill vibe for our last day. We took the ~30 minute walk along the Riverwalk to Rogue Ales Public House, where we were able to sit outside and grab a few appetizers and beers outside on the water. Along the way we stopped at the Garden of Surging Waves, which was beautiful.
A few places we wanted to try, but were closed: Buoy Beer (where you can sit on a glass floor and watch sea lions below you!), Bowpicker Fish & Chips, and Shallon Winery. Hopefully they’re all open again soon!
After our second morning waking up to the beautiful views from The Cannery, we started our fourth official day of our PCH road trip, with our next final destination being Florence, Oregon. Before heading out, we stopped at the cutest little coffee hut, Journey’s End Coffee to fuel up for our busy day. Check out our full month-long itinerary here!
